The Golden Belt Humane Society’s Animal Rescue Operation is more than halfway home.
An attempt to rescue many of the 50 hoarded dogs and puppies received a boost when 25 dogs were transported Wednesday to Unleashed Pets Rescue Adoption in Mission, Kan. Half of the animals were puppies under 1-year-old and the others were older dogs.
“There are days like this when people who really love dogs come to the rescue,” said Seth Orebaugh, Golden Belt Humane Society director. “It was pretty exciting today. It’s gone better than I expected today.”
The dogs which leave the Golden Belt Humane Society are properly vaccinated for parovirus, distemper and bordetella by Chris Klima. The vaccinations are paid through Golden Belt’s general fund.
“Having the dogs properly vaccinated before they leave is an industry standard,” Orebaugh said. “We’ve done these type of successful rescue operations with Unleashed Pets Rescus Adoption before. We could not do this without our volunteers.”
Volunteer Chris Klima stopped in Hays to drop off two Labradors before departing to Mission.
Kristen Saluto of Unleashed Pets Rescue Adoption said 25 dogs were a large number to be accepted from one location. She said the Mission shelter has capacity for 120 dogs on site with foster homes available for 100 more dogs. The shelter will spay and neuter the dogs.
“Once we get the dogs in, we’ll evaluate them for health and see whether they are adoptable pets,” Saluto said. “Smaller dogs tend to move faster, but we have the ability to ‘hold them’ as long as we need to. It’s life or death for these animals and we choose to give them a life.”
The 50 dogs were rounded up at 100 Elm on the southeast side of Great Bend Tuesday. A concerned citizen notified People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA), which called the local shelter. The dogs are a collection of terriers, beagles and dachshunds, including several pregnant females.
The roundup has stretched the capacity of the Golden Belt Humane Society past its typical limit of 32 animals.
The Elm Street resident, Roberta Barlow, 48, will be asked to respond to five citations for not owning a kennel license for housing more than four dogs; and for not maintaining current rabies vaccinations for the dogs.   
Great Bend Police Lt. William Brown said City Attorney Bob Suelter will schedule a first court appearance for Barlow within two weeks. First appearances are scheduled on Mondays at municipal court at the Great Bend city offices.
Orebaugh said The Golden Belt Facebook indicated a high level of interest in the 50 dogs and puppies brought in Tuesday.
“I’ve been so busy, I’ve just taken a glance at our Facebook page, but we’re definitely happy with the response,” Orebaugh said.
Orebaugh said the fate of the remainder of dogs and puppies transported to the Golden Belt Humane Society Tuesday is uncertain. Orebaugh said the shelter is not obligated to keep the animals for three days, which is a typical time frame.  
For information about adopting the animals, call the Golden Belt Humane Society, 620-792-4297; or visit the shelter at 151 South U.S. 281.
Access the Facebook page at https://www.facebook.com/pages/Golden-Belt-Humane-Society.